Here are my opinions on this issue for what it’s worth. From reading the other emotionally charged posts on this subject I know I am in the small minority and will most likely get slammed for saying this, but I hope that those of you that don’t agree with me can read this with an open mind & try to see where I’m coming from. At the very least, we’re all here because we love deer and deer hunting, so even if some don’t see my point, maybe we can agree to disagree.
I live in NW Iowa (Plymouth County). NW Iowa arguably has some of the best farm ground in the state, and some who live in northwestern Cherokee, Sioux & O’Brien Counties would argue it’s among the best in the nation. Admittedly, our deer hunting isn’t the caliber that it is in Southern Iowa, but I think those of you who do live in Southern Iowa would say the same things about your deer ground that those in NW Iowa are say about their farm ground.
Obviously there are no stipulations on who can or cannot buy farm ground when it comes up for sale. Nor are there stipulations on who can or cannot farm it, rent it or make money in any other way off of that ground. Residents & NR alike have equal opportunities to purchase the ground & do with it what they wish.
Land prices are at or near an all-time high in this part of the state. Within the past 2 months there have been 2 land sales within 10 miles of where I live and I am familiar with 2 in Sioux County in the same time period. The price per acre of these sales ranged from $6000-$7500/acre. None of the buyers were from out of the county where the land was sold, let alone from out of state. All of the 2nd place bidders were from within the county as well. In fact, while I’m obviously not familiar with every single land sale in NW Iowa, I haven’t heard of one single out of state buyer purchasing land that’s come up for sale and there have been quite a few land sales in the past few years that I’ve heard who the buyer was. This is at a time when there is potentially a large profit to be made from farming and if the buyer didn’t want to farm the ground themselves they can get $300-400 per acre cash rent at will.
My point here is that while there will no doubt be some out of state people coming here to buy land if something like this ever passes, I really don’t think there will be the huge ‘land rush’ from out of state buyers like some of you are predicting.
Des Moines has plenty of wealthy businessmen who are also sportsman and would, no doubt, love a place of their own to shoot a trophy deer a few hours drive away. Most would agree that the greater DM area has the greatest number of wealthy people in the state living in or around it. Why haven’t they already bought up all the ground that all the wealthy out of state hunters are going to be buying up if this passes? One obvious answer is that Iowa has a finite amount of this type of ground available and a huge share of it just isn’t available to purchase. I’m sure that there have been some of the wealthy city folk from Des Moines that have purchased some prime hunting ground at an inflated rate and by doing so have taken it away from someone else. Does it suck any less that someone who has the means to purchase the type of ground we all dream of is a resident of Iowa? What if the piece of ground that you’ve hunted for years is sold to a person down the road who doesn’t have a ton of money but has scrimped & saved for years & years to be able to purchase the land and now is telling you that you can’t hunt it because he’s saving it for himself. Does that make it hurt less? Either way, you still need to find a new place to hunt.
My point here is that, at least for the time being, we live in a Capitalist society. I know full well what it’s like to be one of the ‘have nots’, but that doesn’t mean that we should be bitter towards the ‘haves’ (as hard as that is at times). As bad as it sucks at times, that’s just the way Capitalism works and we have to take the bad along with the good.
I realize that the bill is as good as dead, but someone has said that giving NRLO’s tags would take away from other NR’s being able to hunt. If something like this would pass, why would they take the NRLO tags away from the regular NR license quota? The net amount of landowner tags would stay about the same, some would just go to residents, some would go to NR’s. To take them from the regular NR quota makes no sense to me, and I see no reason what so ever why anyone would know any different as far as the number of licenses issued is concerned.
The final point I’d like to make is, we’re not talking about giving NRLO’s a statewide any sex deer tag. We’re talking guaranteeing them tag to shoot a deer from the ground they own, pay taxes on and have most likely provided the food & habitat that put that very deer there in the first place. (Personally, I think they should be guaranteed a tag, but have to actually purchase the tag as well as an out of state hunting license, but that’s another issue all together). Chances are, that landowner has done more in terms of providing habitat and supporting the deer population than the vast majority of hunters who hunt off of private ground they don’t own (notice I said private ground; public ground is another issue again). I’m not saying that some people who hunt on ground they don’t own don’t help plant windbreaks, food plots, etc. And there is a very good chance that a lot of people on this site do that since it’s obvious that there are a lot of deer fanatics here who are totally committed to the sport & to supporting/creating habitat. But hopefully you realize that the dedication & devotion that most of you who are reading this have towards deer hunting isn’t reflected by the ‘average’ hunter, who is in the huge majority. The average hunter might do some scouting before the season, might not. He probably takes a few practice shots before the season opens, goes out on opening day to a piece of ground someone he knows lets him hunt or to a piece his buddy got him on, shoots his deer & goes back to being Joe The Working Man until next season. He might give the landowner a gift certificate to Applebee’s or a backstrap, but he sure as heck isn’t planting windbreaks or food plots. What has he actually done that directly put that deer in his freezer? Pay taxes, support the local economy? Both would be indirect things. In no way, shape or form am I saying that Average Iowan Joe doesn’t deserve to get a deer tag; he’s a resident of the state and that’s one of the great things we enjoy by being lucky enough to be able to live in such a great state. What I’m saying is that I think the person who provided the habitat for the deer they are going to be shooting off of that very piece of ground definitely does.
Again, I know I’m in the minority here, and will no doubt be called names, ridiculed & shunned, but hopefully some can see the points I’m trying to make.